Many health conditions can predispose someone to poor circulation – the most common ones are high blood pressure, diabetes, polycythemia (sticky blood), fibromyalgia, and atherosclerosis.

While it is true that problems of blood circulating freely in vessels is a problem that comes with aging, any issue that impedes blood flow can lead to ischemia. This includes trauma, chemical or toxin exposure, or inherited disorders of arterial or venous insufficiency.

Identifying the First Signs of Circulatory Disturbances

Headaches, unexplainable joint pains and chronic fatigue are often the beginning signs of poor circulation. Other signs are cold hands and feet, cramping pain in the calves or feet, and restless leg syndrome.

If any of these are severe, you may need to first get evaluated. Some of the more common tests for circulatory disturbances are an angiography to test the patency (openness and flexibility) of your blood vessels, an EKG (heart monitoring test), or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging involving in a hospital or medical center visit, actual test is performed to get a bird’s eye view of your organs and structures).  These tests are not scary, and usually are simply a screening to rule out life-threatening causes such as emboli (clots or bubbles in a vessel) or thrombi, and any other issues that cause blockages in circulation of blood.  These tests are just tools to investigate a cause for your problem(s), and since they are not painful (the technicians performing them help with  relaxation by giving you a mild sedative) there is no reason to avoid or ignore a recommendation to undergo them.

Once a serious issue has been ruled out, your doctor may find that there is unexplained weakness, fatigue or pain and suggest further testing.  Some blood tests may also be run to check for markers of chronic inflammation, and inherited disorders.  It is a good idea to have all the information in hand before weighing treatment options, whether alternative medicine treatments or conventional.

Using Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine

Unexplained pain and fatigue are the two most commonly reported symptoms in my practice. Because TCM is inherently a functional medicine model, I apply knowledge of meridians, organs and system interactions to formulate a treatment plan.

Signs of adrenal weakness show up in a number of ways, for example. This is a specific type of fatigue that can manifest as coldness, nerve fasciculations and itching, inability to concentrate, and sensitivity to smells. Treatment aimed to strengthen the Kidney pathway and regulate the nervous system is important.

A weakness in immune function is a Wei Qi deficiency, and can manifest as sensitivity to catching colds or viruses, skin conditions, food allergies/sensitivities and bowel problems. Supporting the Lung meridian is important. Herbal remedies containing astragalus are often useful.

Blood Invigorating Herbals

It is entirely possible to utilize an herbal formula to address particular types of circulatory disturbances. There are herbs that go to specific parts of the body, for example, du zhong (eucommia bark) is an herb that helps strengthen the low back and lumbar spine.  Ji xue teng (spatholobus stem) nourishes the tendons and restores blood flow in cases of tendonitis, bursitis and muscle strains.  Tao ren (persica) is peach kernel seed, and is the main ingredient in formulas to promote blood flow in menstrual disorders such as bad cramping, irregular periods, and infertility.

Wonderful Salvia Root, A Staple of Japanese Cardiologists

Dan shen (salvia root) is especially useful for cardiovascular disorders and is used in Japan for angina (generalized chest pain due to vascular insufficiency), Dan shen promotes microcirculation to arterioles thereby encouraging collateralization of blood vessels in ischemic diseases like atheroscerosis, and numerous studies in China have shown it helps restore proper rhythms of vasoconstriction and vasodilation, and when compared to drugs that resemble this function, it has far fewer side effects.

Other significant herbs for circulation listed by condition include:

Headaches:  Corydalis (chuan xiong)
Pain and numbness in the extremities:  Safflower (hong hua)
Arthritis: Corydalis (yan hu suo) in combination with others
Raynaud’s Disease:  Cinnamon twig (Gui zhi)
Abdominal pain:  Linderae (Wu yao)
Pain in back of neck and upper extremities:  Notopterygi (Qiang huo)
Pain in legs or knees:  Achyranthes (Huai niu xi)

Formulas for pain have been studied and updated to address modern patient needs.  Many are also available in a patent form, such as Shao fu zhu yu tang (Unblock the lower orifices) and Evergreen Herbs, a large distributor of herbal medicines located in Irvine, California, carries patents developed by John Chen, a licensed acupuncturist and pharmacist.  Dr. Chen has written extensive volumes on the subjects of the pharmaceutical use of Chinese herbs, and includes both functional and medical uses for herbs, and drug/herb interactions.  Some more commonly prescribed patents from Evergreen Herbs include over 20 formulas that address various types of pain syndromes, like Flex MLT for tendinitis, Back Support HD for pain from herniated disk, Flex (Spur) for pain from bone spurs, and Migratol for migraine headaches.

Can I Combine Drugs and Herbs?

Numerous studies have shown that herbal ingredients can actually help drugs work more effectively.  Because many herbs actually strengthen the liver, the use of herbs in conjunction with drugs can assist the metabolism of the drug and help your body detoxify from it more quickly.  Still, to be cautious, I think that it is best to take drugs and herbs separately, and at different times of the day and night.  I also think it is just simpler to start taking herbs when you know you are ready to wean off of a pain medication, and work with both your doctor and your herbalist in making sure you are taking the proper dosages of each.

While NSAIDS and aspirin, and other pain relievers such as Tramadol and Oxycodone, may be necessary at times to halt pain in its tracks, these do not represent long-term solutions and often are hard on the organs when taken long term.  Herbal analgesics can provide not only symptomatic relief, but they often also contain ingredients that actually heal underlying tissues, restore microcirculation, reduce inflammation and restore function.  It should also be mentioned that herbal analgesics can work just as quickly as drugs, but this is not the case every time.  I usually recommend that patients use conventional medicine to get pain under control, and then switch over to herbs once the pain levels have been reduced by 20% to 30%.  Drugs halt the production of enzymes and that is why they are fast-acting.  Herbal ingredients can also block pathways to the brain, but in a less harsh and less addicting manner than most drugs.  Case in point:  Researchers at UCI, Irvine, have identified a component of corydalis called DHCB which blocks pain signals to the brain, and are currently investigating ways to synthesize this ingredient for manufacture as a synthetic drug.